Permutation-lock.



PATENTED FEB. 4, 1908.

6 SMITH PERMUTATION LOCK.

nruoumn FILED 11.28.1906.

I M v nrn m. wanna-w, 5

UNITED STATES CHARLES siurn, or CLEYELAXD,

OHIO, ASSIGXOR OF ONE-THIRD TO WARREN NOBLE,

OF ULEV ELAXD, OHIO.

PERMUTATION-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4, 1908.

Application filed March 28. 1906. Serial No. 308.486.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, (imam-1s SMITH, a citizen of the United States, resident of Cleveland, county of tuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful lmprovemcntin Permutation-Locks, of which the following is a specification. the principle of the invention being herein explalned and the best mode in which I have contemplated ap )lyingthatprinciple, so as'to distinguish it irom other inventions.

ly invention relates to permutation locks and particularly to permutation locks such as are adapted for use'in combination with door-knobs.

The advantages residing in a door-knob lock are too well known to require explanation here.

The object of this present invention is to produce a lock of this type that will be simple in its construction, that may .be readily substituted for the knobs of door-locks and latches at present on the market, and that will aliord the greatest possible security.

To the accomplisluneut of these and related ends my invention consists of means hereinafter fully described and particularly set forth in the claims.

'The annexed drawing and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used. 5 In said annexed drawin Figure 1 represents a longitudinal central cross-section of a door-knob lock embodying my invention,

such lock being shown in connection with the bolt-actuating spindle and the inside 3 knob of the ordinary door-lock or latch Figs.

2 and 3 are views showing in enlarged size certain details of the pernmtatior lock mechanism proper; Figs. 4 and 5 are broken perspective views of the bolt-actuatmg splndle Pig. 6 is a transverse cross-section of the lock taken on the line 66, Fig. 1 and Fig. 7 is a development of the cylindrical surface of a serrated sleeve that forms an element of such lock.

'hile the principle of operation of my improved permutation lock, as will be ob- 'vious, may be readily adapted to a number of dill'erent situations, I originally devised the same for use in a door-knob lock, and I have partly for this reason chosen this particular embodiment of my invention for the purpose of illustration and description here, without, however, meaning to imply thereby i that such invention is rcstrlcted to tlns single practical application. As has been stated, such lock in this form is designed to replace the ordinary type of knob at present in use, without making it necessary to discard the entire latch or look structure. Accordingly, to apply my knob-lock, all that is necessary is to replace the previous latch-actuating spindle with the spindle A shown in Fig. 1, which is of exactly the same formas the ordinary spindle although diil'ering'somewhat therefrom in structure. Such spindle, as a matter of fact, consists of two parts, a and a secured together end to end by means of a. bolt passing lengthwise through the same. Such bolt is held in place by a suitable nut a at its threaded end which lies within the inside knob B. This inside knob B is adapted to rotate in cscutcheon I), and is attached to spindle A. by a set-screw b, in the usual manner. Outside knob is secured, by means oi the head a of bolt (1' to the corresponding end of spindle which is prolonged for this purpose some distance beyond outside escutcheon D. The shank (1 of outside knob C is fixedly mounted upon the spindle A, being held in place by means of a suitable set-screw c that occupies an inaccessible position within the escutcheon D in the normal assembled condition of the parts. The knob C and its shank (l are preferably separable for convenience in putting the lock together and subsequently adjusting the same'in the manner later to be set forth, but they are rigidly connected in the assembled condition just referred to.

From the construction of s indle A previously described it will be evit ent that ordinarily knobs B and G will be operable independently of each other, the division of the spindle being intermediatel located. The )ortion of s )indle A, to w iich inside knob ii is attached, I have extended far enough within the latch case, not shown, to engage the latch or bolt-actuating mechanism. The inside knob is thus at all times operatively connected with such mechanism. The outside knob, however, can only be thus connected therewith by first uniting the portion a of spindle A, on which it is mounted, with l l l within knob C.

portion (1 To effect such union any suitable, optionally-operable, clutch may be era-- ployeda A referred form of clutch is shown in Figs.

4 am 5; as there shown it consists simply of a reciprocatory member or bar a longitudinally slidable in such )ortion a and adapted to engage a corresponding notch a in the end of portion a. The mechanism whereby I am enabled to operate such member as desired constitutes the permutation lock proper which I shall now proceed to describe.

A spring a, Fig. 1, located behieen the outer end of reeiproeatory member (L5 and knob C normally urges such member a forward to engage notch (1 upon knob C being roperly rotated. The action of this spring, iowever, and thereby the engagement of member a with notch o is controlled by means of amember C rotatably mounted upon the part of spindle-portion a that lies This member C is in the form of a sleeve and is most conveniently mounted upon the spindle-portion so as to be rotatable as described by being screwt-hreaded thereon in the manner clearly shown in Figs. 1 and On its outer edge sleeve C is formed with a notch c that has a cam-surface, and reci )rocatory clutch-member a is provided wit 1 a lug or stud a that, under the impulse of spring a, is at all times held against t 1e cam-lace of this notch. The form of the cam-face is such that whensleeve C occu ies one axial posit-ion clutch member a will )e entirely removed from any )ossibility of engagement with notch a in the inside spindle portion (1, while in another position such clutch member will be free to thus engage spindle portion (1. Obviously no definite length need be prescribed for notch 0 so long as the throw of the cam-face is sufficient to impart the necessary movement to member a. Moreover, whatever the length of the notch, the. cam portion should be confined to its very end in order that no forward movement of member a will occur until the rotation of sleeve is complete.

To return sleeve C to the first of the above positions, which I shall term its inoperative position, I form a second cam-face c on its inner edge and mount in the adjacent portion of shank C of the knob a reciproho ds it out of engagement with the sleeve.

catory pin E adapted to engage such cane To rotate the sleeve in the opposite direction, 4.. e. lnto lts second or operative position, employ the following permutable means.

Mounted on sleeve C is a second sleeve C shown by itself in Fig. 3. This sleeve is rotatable about sleeve C but is normally secured against such rotation by means of a set screw 6, Fig. 1. Sleeve C comprises an inner hollow cylindrical core c, and integral therewith, or else rigidly secured thereto, an outer shell 0 having its one edge deeply serrated. The number of serrations or teeth 0' is not essential, but for the purpose of illustration is assumed to be eight. There are acsordingly eight notches alternating therewith. These notches are of triangular form and their apexes c are on a line and equi distantly spaced about the periphery of the shell, with one exception, one of the notches, the third from the left as shown in Fig. 7, having its apex to one side of the point where it would properly lie. \Vhile the apexes are thus with a single exception equidistantly spaced, the teeth are not necessarily so disposed. In fact they are preferably made of distorted shape, one side being longer than the other, without regard being had to observe any particular order in such arrangment; and I would, further, in the actual manufacture of my .loek, seek to avoid duplication of this serrated sleeve by cutting the teeth hap-hazard without paying any attention to their conformation except in the spacing of the apexes of the notches in the manner above described. The setscrew 0 by means of which sleeve C is secured to sleeve C is mounted in the former sleeve adjacent to the odd-placed apex. Since the notch c is the only point about sleeve C over which set screw 0 cannot be )ositioned to lock the two sleeves together, it is impossible to position the odd notch over cam-face c which has been described as being in substantial alinement with sleeve C as said cam-notch c.

Equidistantly s aced about the shank C" of knob C are eig 1t longitudinally disposed grooves or slideways 0, one of which is occupied by pin E, already referred to'as serving to restore sleeve C to its initial position. The remaining seven pins E are in all ways similar to pin E except that they are adapted to engage, net sleeve C", but the serrated shell 0" of sleeve C". By reason of the disposition and shape of the notches of such shell just described, sleeve C cannot be so positioned on sleeve C but that some one of pins E will, upon being ressed forward, engage the proper inclined ace of a tooth of the former so as to rotate the latter towards'its operative position the odd notch is prevented, by the arrangement of notch c, camface c and set-screw c", from ever occupying at the 1 It will also be cleartion whereby clutch member a is permitted to unite the divideds indle A. Ina lock having agiven number ot pins, the number that will have to be operated to accom )lish this result will depend partly upon the ength of camnotch c and the amount of rotative movement of sleeve C made necessary thereby, and partly upon the conformation of serrations c on sleeve C The order in which the ins E will have to be operated -will de pent partly upon this conformation of the serrations, but to a larger extent upon the relative axial position of sleeve C upon sleeve C and such order is varied at any time by simply altering such relative position.

Pin E, which serves to restore sleeve C to its inoperative position, or in other words to lock the door, is preferably so disposed as to be on the top or in some other definite position on the knob-shank C when clutch member a isin position to engage spindle portion 0. Its button e furthermore differs in shape from the buttons e of the other pins E so as to be easily distinguishable therefrom by touch. By numbering it 1 and the others in order 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, any given combination can be readily operated by sight; while by being able to pick out pin number 1 by its shape, one can with a little practice quickly work such combination by touch alone. To ascertain this combination, it is necessary to empirically determine it after first assembling the lock. For while it would undoubtedly be possible to adopt a standard design for serrated sleeve (J and calculate the combinations corresponding with variousv designated positions of such sleeve upon clutch controlling sleeve C this is exactly what I do not wish to do. Accordingly, as 'ust stated, to determine the combination,

first assemble the lock, securing sleeve C in any position on sleeve C that it happens to occupy or that I may choose to station it. Sleeve C is next rotated about into its inoperative position, either directly or by means of pin E; and then the combination of pins E necessarily operated to move sleeve C mto its operative position is found out by inspection and trial. When the lock is in place on a door it has to be removed, of course, in order to make this determination, and this can only be done by first removing the inside knob. Thus an unauthorized person would have no opportunity of making the observazion described, simple as it is for one who has tccess to the interior of the lock. There beng no plungers, tumblers, or similar parts in uy lock, it is impossible for even an expert to .etermine by the click or sound of the moving arts whether the right combination is being )llowed; pins E operate just the same no latter in which direction sleeve E is being )tated. It is also apparent from the hap- I i-zard manner 111 which it is easiest to make practically impossible, while the maker has no more basis for determining the com bina tion of the lock than the absolute novice when once the owner has adjusted it.

From the preceding description of one form of my improved permutation lock, the similicity of its construction is at once apparent.

t is also seen that as a knob-lock it may be readily applied to any of the various latches and bolts used on doors and the like without removing the same or altering their mechanism, by simply replacing the ordinary knob and spindle with the knobs and spindle shown in Fig. 1. In fact the old inside knob may be if desired retained and used as inside knob B, such knob being in no wiseditl'erent from a regular door-knob. As to the etliciency of mv lock, it is evident that its strength is equal to that of the latch or bolt that it is adapted to throw while its combination is so hidden from detection as to be discoverable only by chance.

Having thus described my invention in detail, that which I particularly point out and distinctly claim, is:

1. In a lock, the combination with a divioed spindle, of a bar adapted to unite the same, a rotatable cam-sleeve adapted to control the operation of said her, and permutable means for rotating said sleeve.

2. In a lock, the combination with a divided spindle, of a spring-actuated member adapted to unite the same, a cam adapted to control said member, and perm'utable means for operating said cam.

3. In a lock, permutable actuating means including'a rotatable sleeve provided with a plurality of inclined engaging faces, and a plurality of movable membersadapted to enga e said inclined faces and thereby rotate said sleeve. j

4. In a lock, permutable actuating means including a rotatable sleeve having one end serrated; and a plurality of movable members adapted to engage the inclined faces of such serrations.

5. In a lock, the combination with a movable member, of permutable actuating means therefor including a rotatable sleeve adapted to move said member, a second sleeve mounted thereon and provided witlra-plurality of inclined engaging faces, and a plurality of movable members adapted to 'engage said inclined faces and therebv rotate said sleeve.

6. In a lock, the combination with a movable member, of permutable actuating means therefor including a rotatable sleeve ada )ted to move said member, a secondsleeve, having one end serrated, adjustably mounted upon said first sleeve, and a plurality of movable members adapted to engage the inclined faces of the serrations on saidsecond sleeve.

7. In a lock, the combination with a (livided spindle, of a bar adapted. to unite the rrated sleeve C that duplicate locks are 1 same, a rotatable cam-sleeve adapted to control the operation of said bar, and means for rotating said sleeve including a member con-' nected therewith and provided with a plurality of inclined engaging faces and a plurality of movable members adapted to engage said inclined faces and thereby actuate said member to rotate said sleeve.

8. In a lock, the combination with a divided spindle, of a bar adapted to unite the same, a rotatable cam-sleeve adapted to control the operation of said bar, and means for rotating said sleeve including a member ad-' justably connected therewlth and provided with a plurality of inclined engaging faces and a plurality of movable members adapted to engage said inclined faces and thereby actuate said member to rotate said sleeve.

9. In a lock, the combination with a divided spindle, of a reciprocatory member adapted to unite the same, a rotatable membcr adapted to control the reciprocation of said reciprocatory member and means for actuating said rotatable member including a cylinder mounted thereon and provided with a plurality of inclined engaging faces, and a plurality of movable members adapted to engage said inclined faces and thereby rotate said cylinder.

10. In a lock, the combination with a di vided spindle, of a reciprocatory member adapted to unite the same, a rotatable memberadapted to control the reciprocation of said reciprocatory member and means for actuating said rotatable member including a cylinder adjustably mounted thereon and provided with a plurality of inclined engaging faces, and a plurality of movable members adapted to engage said inclined faces and thereby rotate said cylinder.

11. In a lock, the combination with a divided spindle,

of a reeiprocatory member adapted to unite the same, a rotatable member adapted to control the reciprocation of said reciprocatory member, and means for actuating said rotatable member including a sleeve mounted thereon and having its one end serrated, and a pluralityof reciprocable pins adapted to engage such serrated sleeve end to rotate the same.

12. In a lock, the combination of'a reciprocatory clutch member, a rotatable member adapted to control the 'reci )rocation of said clutch member, and means ior actuating said rotatable member including a sleeve mounted thereon and having a serrated edge, and a plurality of reciprocable pins adapted to engage such serrated edge to rotate said sleeve.

13. In a lock, the combination with a divided spindle, spring-actuated member adapted to unite the same, and means for controlling the operation of said member, such means comprising a rotatable sleeve having a cam-faced notch on one edge adapted to engage said member, and a cam edge on its other end adjacent to said notch, a reciproeable pin adapted to engage such cam edge to rotate said sleeve in one direction, a second sleeve adjustably secured to said first sleeve and having a series of notches cut on its end, and a series of reciprocable ins, one less in number than said notches, a apted in permutable order to engage the sides of said notches to progressively rotate said first sleeve in the opposite direction.

Signed by me, this 19th day of March 1906.

("HARLES SMITH. 

